Mark Skapinker

Mark Skapinker is a veteran with more than 25 years experience in software and technology. Mark has a unique vision and understanding of how to zig and zag in an ever changing, and sometimes unforgiving, market place.

For entrepreneurs, Mark offers an insider's view to the scope and magnitude of what it takes to create and build a company from an idea through to a thriving company. The proof of Mark’s expertise is detailed in his track record: in 1988, Mark co-founded Delrina Corporation and successfully grew Delrina to annual revenues topping $150 million.

Mark was President of Delrina from its initial incorporation through its public stock offering and listings on both the Toronto Stock Exchange and NASDAQ — until Delrina was acquired by Symantec in 1995.

In 1997, when the technology market place was yet to recognize the tremendous growth of the Internet, Mark founded Balisoft Technologies Inc. – a company focused on intelligent customer interaction software. Later, in the spring of 1999, Balisoft merged with Boston-based Servicesoft Technologies.

Servicesoft became the first major vendor of comprehensive Internet customer service solutions. In September 2000, Servicesoft Technologies was acquired by Broadbase Software Inc. (NASDAQ:BBSW).

In 2008, Mark co-founded iStopOver.com, a Toronto based Internet business focused on peer to peer travel with online ecommerce. In 2010, Skapinker co-founded GaggleUp, an Internet business focused on Internet marketing, group buying and ecommerce with a focus on enterprise companies.

In 2000, Mark co-founded Brightspark Ventures. Mark is a Managing Partner at Brightspark and is based in Brightspark’s Toronto office.

Recent Blog Posts

As we go though scaling up our new model, we are looking for one or two interns to help us in the process. The positions are paid interns located at MaRS in Toronto for a period of 4 months. Marketing …

Since the coverage we received in Techvibes, it appears that the “floodgates have been opened” and we are seeing lots and lots of dealflow. And frankly, the quality of dealflow is quite impressive. As the Techvibes article explained, Brightspark is …

It’s almost 15 years now that I have been a Venture Capital investor in Canada. I started off as a software developer in the 80’s (actually, I started off wanting to live in a socialist utopia on a Kibbutz, but …